


Keeping Promises

by Nynaeve



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Angst, Community: stargateland, Episode Related, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-28
Updated: 2011-05-28
Packaged: 2017-10-19 21:04:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/205196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nynaeve/pseuds/Nynaeve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"There will always be a reason to run and hide. If there's one thing I learned from being an officer's wife it's that you stand your ground."</i> David Telford visits Emily Young after the events of "Alliance".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeping Promises

**Author's Note:**

> _A/N: For LJ's Stargateland prompt Telford/Emily post-brainwashing._   
> _Un-beta'd so all mistakes are my own doing. Dedicated to all the military spouses out there. I respect you all more than words can express._

It was the bomb at Homeworld Command that made David show up on Emily's doorstep. The fear of his own death didn't affect him that much; he'd been in and out of those situations for years. After a while the shock and awe wore off and there was a reluctant acceptance of the inevitable. One could only cheat death for so long. Instead he found himself thinking of _her_ , going about her day, doing chores and visiting friends, with no idea that her existence could, in an instant, be forever altered.

He knocked on her door. She was home, her VW Passat was parked out front, but whether or not she'd be willing to see him...

Her eyes were wide when she greeted him. "Hi..."

"Emily, I was in the...I thought I would...How are you?"

Her expression was cautious. "I'm fine. It...it _is_ you...you're not...?"

"I'm me, David."

"Oh. It's been a while," she commented shifting her weight on her feet. The sound of a horn made her suddenly realize that he was still standing outside and she moved back to give him entrance. "Come in."

David walked in and surveyed the foyer. There were two or three nails in the wall and one bare spot he was certain had once held Emily and Everett's wedding portrait. Other than that the house appeared unchanged. He felt like an intruder, mostly because he once had been. Whatever awkwardness there was between them stemmed entirely from the fact that she had been intimate with her ex-husband in David's body. Emily didn't know that he'd been a mole for the Lucian Alliance. She didn't know he'd had to die to be rescued. She didn't know that he'd been trapped with aliens. That he'd survived an alternate _Destiny_.

Once they'd entered the living room, Emily had disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared minutes later with a glass of water which he accepted as he settled on the couch. She sat stiffly across from him in a wicker chair with ecru cushions that looked slightly worn.

"I'm guessing there's a lot you can't tell me," she started, clearing her throat. "I mean, how is he and...and the baby?"

"The baby didn't make it," he revealed and he averted his gaze.

"Oh. I'm sorry," she replied in a perfunctory tone. Emily wasn't a cold woman, but everything was so far removed from her that it was difficult for her to experience anything with regards to Everett with deep emotion. She was moving forward and moving on; David understood that.

"I didn't come to talk about _Destiny_. I just wanted to check in with you, see how things were going."

"Fine. I'm considering starting college in the fall which feels a little strange. Hazards of marrying a military man, y'know? A million things I never got around to doing because I had to be able to jump whenever the government said so," she explained with a tinge of bitterness. "At least it's providing for me now I suppose."

A heavy silence fell between them and David took a sip of his water to provide some relief. "Have you thought about moving?"

"Moving?" she echoed. She furrowed her brow and pushed back a strand of red hair. "I haven't been to my home town except to visit in years. Small town Nebraska isn't exactly a hotbed for a career or education. Besides, the housing market is so bad I'm better off sticking it out here."

"Still, a change in pace might be nice," he countered in a tone he hoped came across as jovial.

"What's going on?" There was suspicion in her tone. "No one who has the access to the classified material you do shows up out of the blue to 'ask how I'm doing'. Is this about the alleged terrorist attack that was thwarted last week at the Pentagon?"

David didn't have a quick answer. He knew he should have planned for this; Emily was a bright woman and had always been able to see through the cover story bullshit the Air Force put out. He let out a sigh. "Yes. It wasn't what it appeared."

"It's always the same with you guys isn't it?"

"What?" He found himself off-guard at her seemingly non sequitur accusation.

"You have these romantic notions that you'll ride into war and leave the little woman behind. That we're fragile and going to break, but we're not. I didn't leave Everett because I couldn't live with the secrets. I didn't leave Everett because of the long missions. I left him because he lied to me over and over. It's one thing to tell me you can't reveal what you've been doing; it's another thing to go off and sleep with another woman all while promising me that it's the last time. Yes I wanted him home but he's the one that kept telling me he'd come home after this one more mission. Except he never did," she exploded, her eyes watering.

"Emily..."

"No, David. No. I'm not leaving my house because aliens might come crashing through the front window. The threat has always been right around the corner. _Always_. There will always be a reason to run and hide. If there's one thing I learned from being an officer's wife it's that you stand your ground." Emily punctuated her words with several jabs in his direction.

He saw the fire in her eyes and he knew he was defeated. He should have known it before he'd ever said a word.

"Okay," he conceded. "I was worried, can you accept that? I've known you for as long as I've known Everett and I can't save him." His own confession tumbled from his lips before he could stop it. "I can't save him."

Emily slid from her chair and took a seat next to him, their shoulders almost touching. Gently she put a hand on his forearm. "That's the problem with being a hero. Sometimes you can't save everyone."

The memories from when he was brain-washed were faint, yet he could remember the way she looked basked in the low light of evening. She was as beautiful in the bright sunlight streaming through the window behind them.

"Everett was a fool," he whispered. He wanted to kiss her and by the almost imperceptible glance at his lips, David knew she was thinking the same thing. Even so, his shame quelled whatever desire was bubbling up within him. He had no right to pursue her, not with his friend in another galaxy. Not when so much had been his fault. "I should...I should go."

He stood up quickly and Emily did the same though he swore he saw regret in her clear eyes.

"David, look, I know there's a lot of baggage but...if you're ever in the area again, call me, okay?"

"I will," he responded with a nod.

"Promise me," she insisted.

He studied her for a second and his shoulders slumped. "If I'm in the area again, I'll call you."

"Good."

David opened the door and started to step out when Emily put a hand on his shoulder. Turning he was surprised when she placed a light kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

She watched as he made his way down the path to his car parked on the street. He gave her one last look and she waved before going back into her house.

"You were a damned fool, Young," he muttered as he slid into the driver's seat. "But then again, so am I."

No matter what, he vowed to himself that he wasn't going to make Emily face another broken promise. Starting the engine, David pulled away from the curb and drove out of the neighborhood for the last time. He was, after all, a man of his word.

The End


End file.
